Commentary on pro-family issues in the media, politics and in the public square.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

More ethical rot coming to light.

Here's a sobering post by Gary Bauer on the "Summer of Scandals" we're facing with the Obama Administration. There's no doubt that there are unsavory individuals who have worked in every presidential administration. But the apparent breadth and degree of the unethical and unsavory behavior coming out of the Obama Administration is significant.

While it's uncertain what the President and former Secretary of State Clinton knew those working for them did, the buck does stop with the man and/or woman at the top. If nothing else they set a tone and hire people who have or don't have moral, ethical compasses.

Summer
Of Scandals
Each new day seems to bring to light a new scandal. CBS
News reported yesterday that a State Department whistleblower has come
forward with shocking allegations of drug use, prostitution and even pedophilia
among top Obama Administration officials serving our country overseas.
Aurelia Fedenisn was a career agent and investigator at the State Department.
She has gone to Congress with allegations of a massive cover-up of illegal
behavior inside the State Department during Hillary Clinton's tenure.
According to Fedenisn, a report sent to Congress in March was scrubbed of
crucial details, including references to meddling in internal security-related
investigations by top political appointees at the State Department.
For example, in 2011 the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, Howard Gutman, came under
investigation by the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. The
charge: "the ambassador routinely ditched his protective security detail
in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor
children."
Gutman, as it turns out, was a major donor to Barack Obama, raising $500,000
for his 2008 campaign and $275,000 for his inauguration. But the agent
investigating Gutman was ordered to drop the case by Patrick Kennedy,
Undersecretary of State for Management. Kennedy has been criticized for his
role in the State Department's response to the Benghazi attacks.
Other allegations include: the "endemic" use of prostitutes by
members of Hillary Clinton's security detail, an "underground drug
ring" close to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and a State Department official
sexually assaulting foreign security guards in Beirut, Lebanon.
The allegations of such conduct are bad enough. But the most damning accusation
from Ms. Fedenisn is that several investigations were manipulated or shut down
completely by top officials, including Cheryl Mills -- Hillary Clinton's
then-chief of staff.
When the inspector general's report was being prepared for Congress in
December, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Eric Boswell was
reportedly "stunned" by the details. But fearing the potential damage
to his department given all the heightened scrutiny at the time over the
Benghazi attacks, Boswell ordered the information about the illegal conduct and
the manipulated investigations removed.
Boswell's name may sound familiar too. He was one of the Benghazi scapegoats
who reportedly "resigned" after the fallout from the attack. In
reality, he merely "switched
desks" at the State Department.
In response to the news, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign
Relations Committee, promised a thorough investigation. Rep. Royce added that
he was "appalled not only at the reported misconduct itself, but at the
reported interference in the investigations of the misconduct."
Kudos to Ms. Fedenisn for coming forward. We need more dedicated public
servants to do the same. Unfortunately, the administration's manipulation of
investigations and intimidation of whistleblowers appears to be ongoing. CBS
News reported that State Department security officers showed up at Ms.
Fedenisn house two hours after CBS "made inquiries to the State
Department about these charges."